FORMER Derbyshire batsman Travis Birt is on the verge of his full Australia debut after being called into their 13-man squad for the Twenty20 international against Pakistan on Friday.

The powerful left-handed batsman is one of two new faces in the squad for the match at Melbourne, along with New South Wales all-rounder Steve Smith.

Birt spent two seasons at the County Ground, in 2006 and 2007, when he did, at times, show he could hit the ball very hard and a long way.

He has not returned to the county game since then but the 28-year-old has remained an established member of the Tasmania side in Australian state cricket.

He has caught the eye of the selectors in Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition for his middle-order hitting, though his record in this season's competition – 103 runs in five matches at a strike-rate of just over 99 – is modest.

Birt played two first-class and three one-day matches for Australia A during his time with Derbyshire in 2006.